Today is Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK and many other countries including Italy.  
On 27th January 2000 representatives of 44 countries meeting in Stockholm unanimously signed a declaration  which is part of the United Nations Statement of Commitment to adopt the 27th January as  Holocaust Memorial Day. This day was chosen as it is the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945.
Prior to this in 1999, when the ethnic cleansing taking place in Kosovo was in the news, the Prime Minister of the day, Tony Blair pledged to make sure that the horrors of the Holocaust would be remembered by future generations as it was evident that the lessons of that event had not been learnt.
On the 27th January 2001 the first  National Memorial event was held in London. The theme was  “Remembering Genocides: Lessons for the future”.  Although still controversial as certain groups believe a more inclusive title for a memorial day commemorating deaths in other places such as in Rwanda, Palestine and Kosovo would be more appropriate, the event has been held every year since then in different cities around the UK
This year’s event is taking place in Manchester on the theme: Journeys. For more information: www.manchestercommunitycentral.org